AND THE BEAT GOES ON

***IT SEEMS THERE IS LYING IN COLLEGE, TOO***
From Scott Ostler: "At Texas Tech, Michael Crabtree was listed at 6'3". At the NFL combine he was listed at 6'1". One wonders how technical Texas Tech is if they blow a simple height measurement by 2 inches."

***DOMINICAN REPUBLIC IS OUT***
How bad is it when a highly favored baseball team is beaten by a country where the #1 sport is...pigeon racing? Now who's the pigeon.

***JOBA PITCHES WELL***
Three good innings. Wonderful. Picasner still thinks he belongs in the bullpen. He can be overpowering as a starter but he's absolutely lights out in the 'pen. His fastball is consistently in the mid-90's as a starter, but pitching in relief, he can dial it up to 98-100, probably because he doesn't have to pace himself. I have to believe the Yankee brass will wake up to this eventually.

***BRET GARDNER CONTINUES TO HIT WELL***
Picasner is not a fan of Punch & Judy hitters, but Gardner seems to be actually hitting this year. Maybe we're okay.

***A-ROD TO MISS ABOUT 35 GAMES***
It has been suggested that the Yanks will be a better team without him and if the Yanks start out strong, they'll be no stopping the A-Rod haters. Well, freaky things do happen: In 2003, Jeter separated his shoulder and the Yanks went 25-11 (.694) without him. We sure didn't hear how the Yanks were a better team without Jeter.

***ARE THE A'S SHOWCASING CROSBY FOR THE YANKS?***
The Athletics are playing Bobby Crosby (former SS) at third and the rumor is, they're trying to interest the Yanks in him as an A-Rod replacement. A better way to showcase Crosby would be to hack into Baseballs official record book and delete his career .239 batting average.

***PUDGE AND PEDRO, BASEBALL'S MINSTREL SHOW***
Scott Boras is not having any luck with selling I-Rod to the Florida Marlins. "Obviously, the issue is playing time," said Scott. A couple of months ago, Marlins President Sampson said the Marlins had "zero interest" in Pudge. That would certainly be a limiting factor in playing time. As for Pedro Martinez, the Mets have said there is "not a chance" that they're interested in Pedro. Doesn't leave a lot of negotiating room, does it?

***PICASNER'S PREDICTIONS***
Actually, I'm going to wait until Bob Matthews of the Rochester D & C makes his, so I'll know who to stay away from. In reality, Bob usually just picks last year's winners to repeat, bold prognosticator that he is.